Mrs. Jenna Romanelli, Ms. Tamar McPherson, Dr. Shubhada Bhamre, and Miss Alexandra Robert have been accepted into the University of Pittsburgh Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program for this spring and fall.

The Pitt RET program is open to highly motivated math and science teachers who are interested in gaining technical knowledge on intelligent devices systems and technology-embedded environments that help people with special needs and the elderly.

Dr. Shubhada and Ms. Tamar McPherson were recent participants and their students won the design challenge in 2019. Their funding was renewed for another cycle and both were asked to help pilot a new delivery method for the program.

They were recently trained on human-centered design and how to use the Micro:bit microcontroller. During the next 12 weeks, they will be working to identify an opportunity within the Plum Borough School District that requires an engineering design solution. The foursome will need to develop a prototype that uses the Micro:bit microcontroller and then present their solution to the Pitt cohort. In the fall, Plum Senior High School students will once again have an opportunity to enter the Pitt RET design competition. This is a perfect opportunity for the school’s first semester Inventors of Tomorrow course and GATE competitions.